Personal computing discussed
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End User wrote:Michael Larabel over at Phoronix has announced some awesome news. The Steam client and Source Engine are being ported to Linux by Valve. L4D2 is already up and running:
http://goo.gl/Cfgb1
DarkUltra wrote:I'm surprised Valve hasn't done this sooner. Steam can easily and cost effectively reach the linux users out there. It is the same with GOG, on a world basis there are a large market for old games. There should be a relative large market for linux gamers. I still prefer Windows, but this may crumble Microsofts last monopoly, directx games, and I won't have to loose my startmenu to Windows 8 in the future. I can only hope, but Linux is not as user friendly as Windows 7 i think.
sorry for the long rant
BobbinThreadbare wrote:DarkUltra wrote:I'm surprised Valve hasn't done this sooner. Steam can easily and cost effectively reach the linux users out there. It is the same with GOG, on a world basis there are a large market for old games. There should be a relative large market for linux gamers. I still prefer Windows, but this may crumble Microsofts last monopoly, directx games, and I won't have to loose my startmenu to Windows 8 in the future. I can only hope, but Linux is not as user friendly as Windows 7 i think.
sorry for the long rant
Linux has a like a 1% share of the desktop, it's really miniscule compared even to Macs.
And then it's going to be the hardest share to support.
Chun¢ wrote:it's some of the laziest reporting ever.
Chun¢ wrote:I hate that they had to talk to Phoronix. Last time he was on the 'STEAM 4 LINUX ITS HAPPENING GUISE_' train, he found the smallest amount of proof possible (http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=14924) and then considered it as good as gold, posting everywhere that it was a sure thing, WITHOUT TALKING TO VALVE. He failed to check his facts, and used the opportunity to get as much traffic as possible. Even if he eventually does become right, and Valve releases a linux steam / source, it's some of the laziest reporting ever.
BobbinThreadbare wrote:Linux has a like a 1% share of the desktop.
End User wrote:BobbinThreadbare wrote:Linux has a like a 1% share of the desktop.
Desktop? Linux? You are missing the big picture. This is not really about Linux on the desktop. This is about OpenGL based gaming on *nix devices. This market is growing at a massive rate. 2011 saw 200+ million OpenGL devices sold. Valve would be stupid not to get in on a piece of that action.
Philldoe wrote:Think Steam on Android.
End User wrote:Philldoe wrote:Think Steam on Android.
Source Engine based games on both Android and iOS.
Philldoe wrote:But he was right. The end result is all that ever matters in life.
Bensam123 wrote:While Steam can offer cross platform support all they want, that doesn't mean that the game itself will work on that OS. Nix requires OGL or it needs to run in a DX emulator. If you've ever used Wine in Nix to run games you know it sucks like 95% of the time. So, unless they're building a emulator for nix, this seems like a waste of time.
Bensam123 wrote:The article was slashdotted. Even after reading the article they're doing a lot of work for the 1%.
They have plans to bring their other titles to Linux as well as lobby other game developers using Steam and the Source Engine to bring their games to Linux -- natively. They are not using the Wine library or anything in terms of their native Linux Steam/Source engine work.
Bensam123 wrote:I can understand OSX, but I seriously can't imagine that happening with Nix. The crowd that uses Nix is generally fundamentally different then crowds that use either OSX or Windows. They aren't huge gamers. The percentage of that 1% is even smaller that are hardcore gamers and they already have a dualboot for Windows.
Bensam123 wrote:Most developers have no reason to make their games for Nix
Bensam123 wrote:This makes me wonder more so if this is a launchpad for the fabled Steambox.
Bensam123 wrote:I'm finding this quite hard to believe. While Steam can offer cross platform support all they want, that doesn't mean that the game itself will work on that OS. Nix requires OGL or it needs to run in a DX emulator. If you've ever used Wine in Nix to run games you know it sucks like 95% of the time. So, unless they're building a emulator for nix, this seems like a waste of time. Like Bob said without taking into account the minority.
Even if you're talking about hand held Android devices, Steams major market share isn't there. Unless they have plans to become a App store?
Bensam123 wrote:I can understand OSX, but I seriously can't imagine that happening with Nix. The crowd that uses Nix is generally fundamentally different then crowds that use either OSX or Windows. They aren't huge gamers. The percentage of that 1% is even smaller that are hardcore gamers and they already have a dualboot for Windows.
Bensam123 wrote:Try running or playing L4D2 on your android phone. They ported the source engine to Nix, not a app store. You can spin appstore all you want, but the source engine and source games aren't something you'd find on a mobile device or a mobile device is capable of running at any playable rate.